Boston-Area Billboards Push Dan Pallotta Message on Overhead

The Boston-area group that has spearheaded calls for charities to operate more like corporations and for donors to worry less about nonprofits’ administrative costs is taking its case to the streets, trumpeting its message on billboards across the region, The Boston Globe writes. Charity Defense Council-sponsored signs reading “Don’t ask if a charity has low overhead. Ask if it has big impact” have sprouted on several major Boston-area roadways.

The Cambridge, Mass.-based council is led by Dan Pallotta, the author and former fundraising executive who has generated debate in the nonprofit world with his argument - crystallized in a widely watched 2013 TED talk - that charities should spend more on solicitation and administration to grow and expand their ability to do good. Mr. Pallotta said the effort comes at no cost to the council, with his for-profit company designing the ads for free and billboard operator Clear Channel donating the space.